Note on the spectra of Steiner distance hypermatrices

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cooper, Joshua, Du, Zhibin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Cooper, Joshua
Du, Zhibin
author_facet Cooper, Joshua
Du, Zhibin
contents The Steiner distance of a set of vertices in a graph is the fewest number of edges in any connected subgraph containing those vertices. The order-$k$ Steiner distance hypermatrix of an $n$-vertex graph is the $n \times \cdots \times n$ ($k$ terms) array indexed by vertices, whose entries are the Steiner distances of their corresponding indices. In the case of $k=2$, this reduces to the classical distance matrix of a graph. Graham and Pollak showed in 1971 that the determinant of the distance matrix of a tree only depends on its number $n$ of vertices. Here, we show that the hyperdeterminant of the Steiner distance hypermatrix of a tree vanishes if and only if (a) $n \geq 3$ and $k$ is odd, (b) $n=1$, or (c) $n=2$ and $k \equiv 1 \pmod{6}$. Two proofs are presented of the $n=2$ case -- the other situations were handled previously -- and we use the argument further to show that the distance spectral radius for $n=2$ is equal to $2^{k-1}-1$. Some related open questions are also discussed.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_02287
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Note on the spectra of Steiner distance hypermatrices
Cooper, Joshua
Du, Zhibin
Combinatorics
05C12 (Primary) 05C50, 15A69 (Secondary)
G.2.2
The Steiner distance of a set of vertices in a graph is the fewest number of edges in any connected subgraph containing those vertices. The order-$k$ Steiner distance hypermatrix of an $n$-vertex graph is the $n \times \cdots \times n$ ($k$ terms) array indexed by vertices, whose entries are the Steiner distances of their corresponding indices. In the case of $k=2$, this reduces to the classical distance matrix of a graph. Graham and Pollak showed in 1971 that the determinant of the distance matrix of a tree only depends on its number $n$ of vertices. Here, we show that the hyperdeterminant of the Steiner distance hypermatrix of a tree vanishes if and only if (a) $n \geq 3$ and $k$ is odd, (b) $n=1$, or (c) $n=2$ and $k \equiv 1 \pmod{6}$. Two proofs are presented of the $n=2$ case -- the other situations were handled previously -- and we use the argument further to show that the distance spectral radius for $n=2$ is equal to $2^{k-1}-1$. Some related open questions are also discussed.
title Note on the spectra of Steiner distance hypermatrices
topic Combinatorics
05C12 (Primary) 05C50, 15A69 (Secondary)
G.2.2
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.02287